Biological Name:
Melilotus alba (Sweet-Clover)
Natural Habitat:
Sweet-Clover: Fields, roadsides, and other disturbed areas in the Northern Hemisphere.
Description:
Sweet-Clover also known as Melilotus is a plant that is native to grassland and prairie regions of North America. It is a biennial herb that can grow up to six feet tall and it has small oval-shaped leaves and small white or yellow flowers that bloom in the summer. The plant is known for its sweet clover-like aroma and it is often used as a forage crop for livestock.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Is sweet clover edible?
A: The young leaves can be eaten raw, preferably before the plant blossoms. They are bitter and aromatic, usually used as flavoring in salads. The whole plant thoroughly dried can be used to make a tea with a hint of vanilla. The seeds can be used as a spice.
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Q: Is clover toxic to humans?
A: While wild clover is considered poisonous to humans in large quantities, in small quantities, clover is both edible and potentially beneficial to your health.
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Q: What is sweet clover poisoning How does it occur?
A: Sweet clover poisoning is seen when animals eat spoiled sweet clover hay or silage. Any method of hay storage that allows sweet clover to mold increases the chance of a toxin forming in the hay. Weathered, large round bales, particularly the outer portions, usually contain the highest levels of toxin.
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Q: Does sweet clover smell?
A: The plant has a generally sweet fragrance until later in the season when it cures out and has a sour smell. Sweetclover can colonize disturbed sites and move into natural areas; it also can compete for resources with more desirable native vegetation.
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Q: Can clover be eaten raw?
A: All parts of the clover plant appear to be edible. Clover blossoms are used to make teas and jellies, while the leaves can be eaten cooked or raw.
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Q: Does sweet clover thin the blood?
A: How does it work ? Sweet clover contains ingredients that can thin the blood and help wounds heal.
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Q: Why is sweet clover invasive?
A: Quick facts. White and yellow sweetclovers are invasive species. Yellow and white sweetclover grow abundantly on disturbed lands, roadsides and abandoned fields. The plants degrade native grasslands by shading out sun-loving plants, reducing diversity.
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Q: What are the benefits of sweet clover?
A: Sweet clover is used to increase the loss of water from the body through the urine (as a diuretic). It is also used for varicose veins and to relieve symptoms of poor blood circulation (chronic venous insufficiency) including leg pain and heaviness, night cramps, itchiness, and fluid retention (edema).
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Q: Will clover choke out plants?
A: Clover fixes nitrogen from the air and releases it to the soil for other plants to use. Clover stays green for a longer season than grass. Clover is very persistent with an aggressive root structure, choking out most weeds.
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Q: Should I let clover take over my lawn?
A: Clover Kills Other Weeds Growing clover does not allow room for typical lawn weeds to thrive, meaning the lawns you mow could be weed-free and beautiful! Those are just a few ways that clover can benefit lawn grass. Not only is the use of clover organic, inexpensive, and easy, it’s also very effective.
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Q: Do bees like sweet clover?
A: Beekeepers in ancient Greece recognized sweet clover as a wonderful honey plant. It still attracts bees by the millions to the steep, dry hillsides where it flourishes.
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Q: Is sweet clover poisonous?
A: Poisoning Concerns Sweet clover contains a substance called coumarin, which is converted to dicoumarol by mold in hay. Dicoumarol is an anti-clotting agent that will cause livestock to hemorrhage (bleed). This can be internal bleeding so there are no apparent signs of the problem looking at the cattle.
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Q: Is there another name for sweet clover?
A: Melilotus, known as melilot, sweet clover, and kumoniga (from the Cumans), is a genus in the family Fabaceae (the same family that also includes the Trifolium clovers). Members are known as common grassland plants and as weeds of cultivated ground.
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Q: What is sweet clover good for?
A: Sweet clover is used to increase the loss of water from the body through the urine (as a diuretic). It is also used for varicose veins and to relieve symptoms of poor blood circulation (chronic venous insufficiency) including leg pain and heaviness, night cramps, itchiness, and fluid retention (edema).
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Q: What does sweet clover do to animals?
A: Sweet clover contains a high level of a chemical that can be converted to an anticoagulant. Improperly curing hay made from certain sweet clover varieties such as white and yellow sweet clover can cause severe and often fatal hemorrhages in livestock such as cattle, sheep and goats.
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Q: Is sweet clover good for the soil?
A: Sweet clover is renown for improving marginal soil by increasing the organic matter quickly. Plants are tolerant of heat and shading. Tap root is fairly aggressive and is able to loosen hard soils. Yellow blossom has very good winter hardiness.
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Q: Is sweet clover a good cover crop?
A: Once established, sweetclover is the most drought tolerant of all cover crops that produce as much biomass. It is especially resilient in its second year, when it could do well in a dry spring during which it would be difficult to establish annual cover crops.
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Q: Will yellow sweet clover reseed itself?
A: Yellow Sweet Clover spreads by reseeding itself, and it often forms colonies at favorable sites. The sweet hay-like aroma of the foliage is caused by coumarin. Cultivation: The preference is full or partial sun, moist to slightly dry conditions, and a somewhat heavy clay-loam soil.
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Q: What causes sweet clover poisoning?
A: Sweet clover poisoning is seen when animals eat spoiled sweet clover hay or silage. Any method of hay storage that allows sweet clover to mold increases the chance of a toxin forming in the hay. Weathered, large round bales, particularly the outer portions, usually contain the highest levels of toxin.
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Q: Does sweet clover come back every year?
A: Sweet clover can be an annual or a biennial depending on where it is planted as well as the cultivar used. Sweet clovers are an excellent soil-builder because they have a deep taproot that extends through the soil profile which takes up nutrients and minerals that can be used by crops.
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Q: How often does sweet clover bloom?
A: Sweet clovers flower from late May through September, set seed, and die. Both plants produce small, hardy seeds that remain viable in the soil for as many as thirty years.
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Q: What month do you plant clover?
A: Plant clover in the spring or early summer, when the ground has become soft and moist from the spring rains. You may also plant in September or early October in most locations. Clover seed is very small, so you may want to mix it with lime or fertilizer to give you more substance to work with.
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Q: What month do you spray clover?
A: The best time to spray is in the early spring. Spray the weeds to wet but not to the point of runoff. Repeated application may be necessary about 6 weeks later to treat clover since it is a persistent weed.
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